3D printing technology, by which a material for modeling is three-dimensionally placed and modeled on the basis of CAD (computer aided design) data, is known. One of such methods is a fused deposition molding method (FDM method), in which a filament-shaped material for modeling (modeling material) is heated and melted, extruded through a nozzle, and modeled while being stacked on a building table. Such 3D printing technology can enable modeling in a shape or size which cannot be performed by conventional injection molding, and it does not require a mold for molding molten resin, and therefore it is believed to be very beneficial for, e.g., producing industrial parts having a new shape and designing in a stage before production.
In recent years, 3D printing devices (also called 3D printers) employing the FDM method have been reduced in size and are available at low prices and thus they have been spreading to common households and educational facilities including elementary schools and junior high schools. Moreover, use of objects obtained using 3D printing devices are under expansion to multiple purposes, such as display samples, decoration, figurines, and figures.
As a three-dimensionally modeling method using the FDM method, there has been proposed, for example, a method of modeling a 3D object containing a metal part, including positioning a metal part having a polymer-coated surface within a build chamber, and depositing a build material on the polymer-coated surface (see, for example, Patent Document 1). On the other hand, there has been proposed, for example, a method including feeding a filament of a modified ABS (ABS: acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer) material to an extrusion head at the maximum liquefier temperature to melt it, and depositing the molten modified ABS material (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
As a material for three-dimensionally modeling using the FDM method, there has been proposed, for example, a composition including a copolymer obtained by graft copolymerizing an aromatic vinyl compound in the presence of a specific rubbery polymer and a polymer obtained by polymerizing an aromatic vinyl compound (see, for example, Patent Document 3). Moreover, resins such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polyamide, polycarbonate, and polylactide, and combinations thereof are disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 4).